Burt Bacharach, legendary American composer of the hits
I say a little prayer for you
or
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
, died at the age of 94, American media announced on Thursday.
Take Burt Bacharach's titles off the sales charts of the 1960s, and what's left?
Not much: he and his eternal lyricist Hal David have signed songs so famous and so often used in TV commercials that it has become difficult to identify the original performer.
For his muse Dionne Warwick, Bacharach created
Don't Make Me Over
or
I'll Never Fall In Love Again.
But the elegant Burt did not compose only for sexy singers:
The Look Of Love
by Dusty Springfield is still him, just like
I Say A Little Prayer
by Aretha Franklin, the
Make It Easy On Yourself
by the Walker Brothers ,
Raindrops Keep Fallin'
On My Head
', covered in French by Sacha Distel.
Read alsoBurt Bacharach, a legend in the night
The Bacharach touch is easily recognizable: distinguished arrangements.
Burt, handsome and athletic during the 60's, will gradually disappear from circulation, existing only through the tributes of his many admirers, the most famous being Elvis Costello with whom he collaborated in 1996 for the soundtrack of movie
Grace Of My Heart
.
Burt Bacharach made his comeback in 2005 with the album
At This Time
, the result of numerous collaborations, notably with Rufus Wainwright and... Dr Dre.
American critics hailed this new album using the formula
What the world needs now is Burt
.